Motherly Medicine
by suicidalwerewolf
Summary: Right as Minato was about to seal the Kyubi, Someone unexpected stepped in and took his place.  However, the sealing doesn’t go exactly as planned.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Prologue

"Naruto, my son, I am truly sorry for what I am about to do. Please forgive me." Minato had just arrived to the front lines where the Kyubi was attacking. He was seated a top of Gamma Bunta's head and his newly born son was also present.

Minato had gotten into position and was just about to start making hand seals, when he felt a sharp jabbing pain in his neck and then the world went dark.

Two days later……..

Minato slowly opened his eyes. He immediately closed them because the bright white light hurt his eyes. At first, he thought he was dead, but the smell of antiseptic told him he was in the hospital. He groaned and opened his eyes to find both Sarutobi and Jiraiya in the room.

"What happened?" Suddenly the last event he experienced flashed through his mind. "What happened to the village?! Is Kyubi still a threat?! Someone tell me!" Sarutobi pulled the pipe out of his mouth and gave a sigh.

"The village is fine and so is your son. The Kyubi was defeated."

Relief flooded through Minato knowing that both his son and village were safe. "Wait, I don't remember finishing the jutsu to beat Kyubi so what happened?"

At this both Jiraiya and Sarutobi adopted a sad expression. "It seems Tsunade knocked you out and performed the jutsu in your place. You really shouldn't leave scrolls containing such powerful jutsu lying around your office." Sarutobi then took a long drag from his pipe to try to calm himself.

"Why would Tsunade do that?" This time it was Jiraiya who spoke up. "Tsunade is a complicated person, but one thing about her is that she's always treasured family. She was the one who delivered your son. And when I saw her holding him, she had a warm smile on her face that I hadn't seen in years. Your son sort of resembles her little brother, Nawaki. Perhaps he caused her some nostalgia. She probably didn't want to see him alone since his mother had died during child birth. That's always been a constant with Tsunade; she always had a soft spot for babies."

Minato took in the answer, mulling it over and digesting it. He owed Tsunade a large amount of respect and gratefulness. Because of her the village was safe and he would be able to watch his son grow up. "Is there anything else I should know about?"

Sarutobi and Jiraiya each exchanged a look. "We think something happened that was different from what was supposed to happen."

"Well yeah, it wasn't planned for Tsunade to take my place."

"Idiot we mean with the sealing. I showed up in time to see Tsunade activate the jutsu. I saw her pull out the Kyubi's soul well actually it was more like its chakra, but it looked like her chakra left her and merged with the Kyubi's. I don't really know what happened, but all of the redness disappeared and a dark blue chakra was sealed into your son."

"We think that instead of having Kyubi sealed into your son, Tsunade's soul was sealed into him and Kyubi's chakra merged with his."

"Ok so you guys think that Tsunade is sealed into my son and the Kyubi is no more."

"Yeah."

"Weirder things have happened."

Minato was now gathering his thoughts, as is head was spinning from the new information. There were so many possibilities and questions and what if's. One thing was for sure though; things were definitely going to get interesting around here.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the song

Chapter 1: You've got a mother in me

Time skip – a few years………..

Naruto is now five. His name is Uzumaki Naruto, son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. Unfortunately, his mother died during child birth. Now one would ask "why did he bear his mother's clan name instead of his father's?" Well simple really. It was for his own protection. His father was the fourth Hokage and the Kīroi Senkō. Being his son was just asking for death. Thankfully, his mother's clan was not very well known as she originated from the Whirlpool country.

So basically, he was a nobody. Another face in the crowd. The only family he had was his father, who he barely got to see and old man Sarutobi. He's been alone as long as he can remember as he couldn't be too close with his father or be with him too often because people may make comments and then enemies may come after him thinking that his father is close to him.

He was truly alone. And right now he was sitting comfortably the window seat watching the rain fall.

He couldn't even live with his father. That was how alone he was. Tears fell from his eyes and trailed down his cheeks despite his trying to will them back.

'Damn it'

Why him?

Why did all of this happen to him?

'Damn it'

It's not like he ever asked to be the son of Yondaime.

'Damn it'

'Damn it'

'Damn it'

He got up and went to the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and put his hands under the water before splashing some water on his face. He looked at the mirror and just stared.

His eyes were puffy and red.

His eyes were still watering.

His facial expression displayed depression and loneliness.

Only one word could come to mind.

Pathetic.

He hated it.

He hated the world for dumping all this shit on him.

He hated his father.

He hated the village.

But most of all, he hated himself.

'Damn it all'

He cocked his fist back before slamming it into the mirror. It broke into multiple sharp, jagged edges and flew at him. He got a couple of cuts on his upper arms and face. Blood oozed from them as well as from the cuts on his lower arms. He brought his hands up to examine his palms and saw all of the blood running from them.

He trembled a bit before everything went black.

He had lost consciousness before he hit the ground.

Mindscape

Naruto looked around. He was in a dark hallway and there were pipes lining the walls.

He began to walk even though he had no idea where he was going. He just had this strange urge to continue forward.

He came to a cage with a large seal on the door. However, nothing was visible beyond the doors as everything inside was cast into darkness.

"Hello. Is anybody in there?"

Silence was his answer.

"Is anybody in there? Hello!" This time he asked louder and something inside the cage stirred.

"Must you be so loud? You're giving me a headache." A figure emerged from the darkness. Upon closure inspection, the figure was certainly a woman. She had long blonde hair and light brown eyes. She wore a green jacket over a white shirt with a purple waist band and navy blue pants.

"Who are you?"

The woman frowned at the question. "Take a closer look boy. You must have heard of me."

The boy gave her a once over before furrowing his brows in confusion. "I've never heard of you before lady. Who are you?"

The woman feinted (anime style) before instantly returning to her feet and then she started ranting. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS SHIT. AFTER EVERYTHING I'VE DONE FOR THIS VILLAGE. IF I COULD I'D GIVE THOSE OLD BASTARDS A PIECE OF MY MIND. DAMN THEM ALL."

Naruto sweat dropped during her rant. "So who are you anyway? And where are we?"

"Boy kid you ask a lot of questions. We are both in a space deep within your subconscious where my soul and mind are sealed away and as for your first question, I am Tsunade no namekuji – hime (Slug Princess Tsunade)."

The name Tsunade sounded familiar to Naruto. Slowly the gears started turning as he sorted through his memories until he could recall something related to the name. Suddenly his eyes widened in realization. "You're the lady that that statue in the middle of the village was made after."

"I've got a statue depicting my greatness?! Not bad you old goats, not bad at all."

"So what are you doing here anyway? I mean you said your soul was sealed here, but you never said why."

Tsunade's happy expression faltered as this was one question that she was dreading. "It's kind of a long story."

"Well I've got time and there's nothing else to do."

Tsunade sat down on a makeshift bench while sighing in defeat. "Fine kid, you win, but can you do something about this bench? Maybe something a little more comfortable."

"How do I do that?"

"Well this is your mind kid. Just concentrate on what you want to do and it should happen."

Naruto did as Tsunade said. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the bench. After a few minutes of intense concentration, the bench became a very comfortable armchair.

Tsunade sat down in the chair. "Damn I like you kid, you know how to treat a lady right. This is a nice chair. So anyway I guess I'll start with when I first met you. You see, I was the one who delivered you. Your mother was a very good friend of mine and she asked me if I would deliver you as she wanted he best. Unfortunately, she died during childbirth."

"Anyway, about two weeks before you were born I discovered a scroll lying around in your father's office. I'm going to assume you know who your father is."

Naruto nodded.

"Now as I was saying I found a scroll lying around in your father's office. I took a look at it and realized your father's plan. You see, the Kyubi had been attacking nearby villages and was on its way a matter of time before it attacked Konoha. You father's scroll contained a very powerful sealing jutsu. I figured that he was planning on sealing away the demon as it was much too powerful for any human to defeat. However, the sealing technique would fail if it was done on anyone other than a newborn. The jutsu was designed to merge the chakra of the sealed and that of the one who had the seal on them and it would have to be done on someone whose chakra coils where not fully formed. I knew your mother was pregnant and I figured he would seal the demon in you. Your father was the type of man who would never ask someone else to make a sacrifice that he, himself, would not make. However, your father was a good friend of mine. He always seemed to make me smile even on the worst day. I remember him when he was just a genin. He reminded me of my little brother. I knew he would make a good father and I wanted to see him happy with his family. However, the jutsu required hat the user must hand over their life. I just couldn't stand the thought of a second Minato without his father around. It reminded me of when I was little. It was a time of war and many children were homeless or alone as their families were constantly on missions. I just couldn't stand by and do nothing as another baby was left without a family. So I worked constantly on learning your father's technique until I had it down and then I stepped in when the time came."

"However, I must have messed up as it was Kyubi that was supposed to be sealed here. Instead I'm here and the Kyubi is probably in Shinigami's stomach."

Naruto just kind of stared. He just received a lot of information and it was a lot to take in. He was just at a loss for words. Every time he tried to think of something he tried to say his mind was blank.

"I've been watching you for awhile now kid. I've seen everything you've seen and heard everything you've heard. You've had a rough life. Do you want to talk about anything?" Tsunade could sense that Naruto understood what she had said, but just didn't know what to say. She thought it best to try to befriend the kid and try to get to know him. Maybe give him a real friend.

"Not really." Naruto's eyes were downcast and his tone of voice told Tsunade he was lying.

"Kid, you suck at lying. Now out with it."

"Why would you even care? No one else has, why would you be any different?"

"Because not everyone is sealed inside of you kid. I probably know as much about you as you know. Maybe even a little more. You can trust me kid."

"It's just hard alright. I pass out and then meet this woman who tells me she's sealed inside of me and knows everything about me. For all I know this could just be another weird dream."

"Kid, can you usually change your dreams or details within your dreams?"

"Well……..no."

"Then clearly this isn't a dream. If it was there'd be some sake or at least a gambling hall."

"You do realize that I'm underage right."

"I meant for me. But c'mon kid, you can trust me, I swear and we're gonna have to trust each other if we are to survive in this world."

"So we're like family?"

"Yeah, you and I are like a family. So tell me, what put you in such emotional distress? Your mind couldn't take whatever stress it was and that's why you passed out and ended up here."

Naruto's features darkened again and his hair threw his eyes into shadows as he looked at the ground. "Oh, nothing important." Despite his trying to sound strong, his voice faltered a little and he couldn't stop some of the tears that escaped his eyes.

Tsunade couldn't stand seeing him like this. He'd never broken down and cried before. Her maternal instincts kicked in and she reached out to pull him into a hug. She was glad that he didn't resist and instead accepted the embrace.

"It hurts."

"What hurts kid? Are you injured?"

_I want a mom that will last forever  
I want a mom to make it all better  
I want a mom that will last forever  
I want a mom who will love me whatever_

"I don't know. There isn't any actual mark, but it hurts right here." Naruto placed his hand over his heart.

"How does it hurt kid?" Tsunade wasn't stupid and being inside this kid she was almost completely positive on what the problem was, but she had to be completely sure.

"I don't know how to describe it. It just feels like there's a hole in it and no matter what I do, it never feels full."

_I want a mom that'll take my hand  
And make me feel like a holiday  
A mom to tuck me in that night  
and chase the monsters away  
I want a mom that'll read me stories  
And sing a lullaby  
And if I have a bad dream to hold me when I cry_

"Kid, have you ever told your dad about this? Maybe he can help."

Naruto's crying had started to calm down a bit, but when his father was mentioned, it just came back full force.

"I can't tell him."

"Why not? I was there when you would be with your father and he seemed like he could help."

"That's not why I can't tell him. I can't tell him because he doesn't need this dumped on him too."

Tsunade reached out and tried to dry away his tears, but they just kept coming. "What do you mean kid?"

_Oh,  
I want a mom that will last forever  
I want a mom to make it all better  
I want a mom that will last forever  
I want a mom that will love me whatever, forever_

"He has enough things to do what with having to protect and run this entire town. He's already under enough stress without having to worry about me. So I have to be strong for him because………because……..because I'm a big boy…….and big boys don't cry."

Tsunade felt for this kid. She remembered back when her grandfather had died and she had to stay strong for Nawaki. She remembered that she too had to keep everything bottled up inside so Nawaki wouldn't break down.

"Kid you really shouldn't keep all of that locked away. It's not healthy. Isn't there anybody else you could tell if you can't tell your dad?"

"Not without it getting back to him. And then not only will he feel bad, but he'll feel that he failed as a father because I couldn't even tell him."

"I'll be honest kid, your entire situation sucks. Maybe you could talk to someone who can't talk to your father."

"Like who?"

"Me kid. I certainly can't talk to him and I'll be here for you and listen."

_When she says to me, she will always be there  
To watch and protect me I don't have to be scared  
Oh, and when she says to me I will always love you  
I won't need to worry 'cause I know that it's true_

"Really? You'll listen to me? Wait how do I know that you won't just leave me alone?"

"Because I'm sealed inside of you kid. I can't leave even if I wanted to. You and I will be stuck together until the day we die."

"So I won't be alone anymore?" Naruto looked at Tsunade with his big cerulean eyes full of hope. Tsunade preferred his eyes full of hope and light oppose to the cold, dead eyes that he had appeared here with.

"You've felt alone for awhile haven't you kid?" Naruto just nodded. Tsunade brought her right hand onto his head and stroked his hair a few times to try to soothe him. "Well kid, I promise I won't leave you alone anymore. Does that sound good?"

_I want a mom when I get lonely  
Who will take the time to play  
A mom who can be a friend and a rainbow when it's gray  
I want a mom to read me stories  
And sing a lullaby  
And if I have a bad dream, to hold me when I cry_

Naruto nodded energetically and wiped away his tears. For the first time in a long time, he was truly happy. He had a family now.

Finally, the two separated. "Well kid, I think you should head back. You've been here for quite a long time and it will probably be morning soon."

Naruto gave her a look of understanding before he started to head back the way he came. Keeping his back to her, Naruto asked her a question. "Can I………Can I call you Kaasan?"

_Oh,  
I want a mom that will last forever  
I want a mom to make it all better  
I want a mom that will last forever  
I want a mom that will love me whatever, forever  
I want a mom that will last forever  
I want a mom to make it all better  
I want a mom that will last forever  
I want a mom that will love me whatever, forever  
I want a mom  
I want a mom  
I want a mom that'll last forever  
I want a mom that'll last forever  
I want a mom  
I want a mom  
I want a mom that'll last forever  
I want a mom  
I want a mom that'll last forever  
I want a mom that'll last forever  
I want a mom..._

Now it was Tsunade to be stunned. This was definitely not a question that she was expecting, but there was only one answer in her mind. "Yes, I would like that."

Naruto turned back and gave her a big grin before leaving.

"Kid, I may not be the best role model, but I promise I'll raise as my own and never leave you alone again." Tsunade made this vow to herself. She had accepted Naruto as her surrogate son and she wouldn't abandon him not matter what.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 2: Training 

It has been a few days since Naruto and Tsunade first met. Naruto's depression and loneliness was slowly disappearing. Tsunade was eager to listen to him and was just thankful for someone to keep him company and to actually listen to what he had to say. He was a kid and kids need someone to listen to them.

Sure his dad listened to him, but he was rarely around because of his hokage duties and keeping their relationship a secret so as to protect him. Naruto understood and didn't hold it against him, but he couldn't help but feel a small bit of anger towards him. He wasn't angry with what he was doing, but rather the fact that he wasn't around.

However, even that anger was starting to disappear. His father still sent him money for the essentials and bought him stuff. He also sent that chuunin over to teach him to read and write. He had made it a mission or something, but he'd managed to catch on pretty quick. Nobody raised any questions on that since Naruto was considered a ward of the village and the hokage had to take care of him.

Minato also sent Naruto multiple scrolls that he would need in order to learn what was necessary to be a ninja. Although Naruto hadn't shown much interest when his father had mentioned it, Naruto wanted to be a ninja. He just wasn't crazy about being in a class full of other kids who may ask him questions he didn't want to answer.

Naruto had been reading the scrolls, but there wasn't much except for a couple of ninja techniques and a bunch of village history. He kept trying to learn what the scrolls were saying on chakra manipulation, but it was it was hard. It was very general and hard to understand.

'_This is confusing. It's like reading a different language.' _

"**What's wrong kid?" **

'_I can't figure out what this scroll is saying Kaasan. It's all really confusing.'_

"**What are you trying to learn to do?" **

'Manipulate chakra.'

"**Oh, let me guess. You're reading from a scroll that uses big words and goes into more detail about what chakra is and not enough on how to actually use it." **

'_Yeah. How did you know?' _

"**Because kid, I remember everyone struggling with that back when I was a genin. Put that scroll away and go to a training ground. I'll teach you how to manipulate your chakra and it'll be ten times easier than what the scroll says." **

'_Alright!' _

'**Kid still gets excited over the smallest things. It would be cute if it didn't say how much neglect there was in his childhood.'** Tsunade was more than happy to help Naruto out. His happiness made her feel good, plus it kept her from dying of boredom. Man she really missed gambling.

At the training field…..

'_Ok, I'm here. Now what do I do?' _

"**Its simple kid just put your hands into one of the twelve hand signs you learned from that scroll. Then close your eyes and concentrate on your chakra and concentrate on making it move. Try picturing your chakra in your mind. My old sensei taught my class this and it became so much easier." **

'_Ok.' _

Naruto placed his hands into the ram sign and concentrated. Nothing happened at first, but he didn't give up. He tried harder and then he felt different. He felt energized. Something was flowing through him and he felt strong.

"**Congrats kid. You just manipulated your chakra." **

'_Really?! Yatta!' _

"**Calm down kid. You learned to manipulate it, but now you have to learn to control it." **

'_But I thought I just did that.' _

"**No kid, you learned to call upon it at will, but you have to practice that and controlling it. It you only learn to manipulate it, you'll constantly waste chakra. Controlling your chakra will also allow you to be able to escape from genjutsu, but you'll learn more about that latter. Practicing your control will also help to strengthen your chakra reserves and make you stronger." **

'_Ok, how do I learn to control it?' _

"**The most basic chakra control exercise is tree climbing. Its simple really, just focus chakra to the bottom of your feet and run at the tree. The bottom of your feet is the hardest to concentrate chakra to and then you have to have a specific amount of chakra constantly channeled to your feet or you'll fall." **

'_Ok, let's give it a try.' _

Naruto turned to a tree. He placed his hands back into the ram seal and channeled his chakra to his feet. Then he took off to the tree. He figured he would fall off immediately. Despite his confidence, His Kaasan made it sound like a trail and error thing that he would have to constantly do until he found the proper amount. However, he managed to keep going until he reached a branch and he decided to stop. He looked down and realized how high up he was.

"**Interesting." **

'_What?' _

"**Looks like me being sealed inside of you has given you some of my unique abilities." **

'_But one of those history scrolls said that the only unique abilities your family had been the mokuten (wood element) jutsus and that you didn't inherit them.'_

'**Thanks for reminding me'** Tsunade thought grimly as she remembered her reaction back then when she couldn't use her grandfather's abilities. **"True kid, but what I'm talking about isn't a known bloodline or even considered a bloodline. However, my grandfather's jutsus required an insane amount of chakra control. It's that insane amount of control that allowed be to create my super strength that others have tried and failed at recreating. So it is sort of like a bloodline as there are few if any who can ever hope to achieve this insane amount of chakra control. Consider yourself lucky kid. You'll never have problems controlling your chakra. That's especially lucky considering your vast amount of chakra." **

'_Wow. Wait so that means I'll be able to do the same things that you were able to do that made you a legend, right?' _

"**That's right kid and how lucky for you, I'm here to teach you everything I know." **

'_So what's next Kaasan? Should I continue to practice this or move on to something else?' _

"**Practice going up and down the tree a few more times until you're sure that you've completely mastered the exercise. Then practice with your throwing weapons." **

And so this routine continued for a few weeks. Naruto would practice his chakra control all from morning until noon. Then he would practice with his throwing weapons until the sun started to set. At the end of the third week, Naruto could continually go up and down the tree from the bottom to the very top more than twenty times without getting tired. In fact, it was unknown how many times he could go up and down the tree without getting tired as he had a massive amount of chakra and always quit practicing the exercise to either have lunch or start practicing something else.

Naruto was currently practicing the water walking technique. Tsunade had decided that it was time to upgrade his chakra control even more. Naruto had already fallen in multiple times, but was starting to get the hang of it which shocked Tsunade as she had just taught him this technique today and he was already very close to mastering it. As shocked as she was, Tsunade also felt a sense of pride that her "son's" control was already so good at such a young age. What had mostly messed Naruto up with the technique was that he was trying to do the exact same thing as with the tree walking as Tsunade had left her explanation pretty vague so he could figure it out on his own. After all, she couldn't hold his hand with everything. If she did then he would never improve.

Suddenly Tsunade got a funny feeling**. "Kid, stop for a minute. Do you feel anything?"** Naruto walked back to shore before looking around a little bit. For some strange reason, he felt as if he were being watched. _'Yeah Kaasan, I feel like I'm being watched.' _

"**Quick, run off through woods. After you stop, if you still feel the same, then head to the Hokage tower and tell your old man what's up." **

Heeding Tsunade's words, Naruto sprinted off. He ran through four different training fields before stopping. He leaned against a tree when he suddenly felt like he was being watched again.

'_What should I do Kaasan? Should I call them out or run?' _

"**Run kid, you have no idea how strong this person is and you don't have any offensive jutsu to use against this person." **

With that Naruto ran. He headed towards the Hokage tower and headed straight to his father's office. The secretary didn't stop him as his father told her that he was always allowed. Although the secretary wondered why Yondaime gave some orphan free rein, but she didn't question him as he was the great Hokage.

Minato's P.O.V.

Minato was currently facing down the worse enemy known to man. This enemy was worse than Orochimaru, more annoying than Jiraiya, and able to regenerate faster and better than Tsunade.

This enemy was the dreaded paper work. It never went away. God Minato could swear that by the time he had finished one damn pile; two more had come to take its place. It was so damn annoying.

God how he wished that something would come and give him an excuse to leave his office. A knock on his office door would hopefully answer his prayer.

"Come in."

The doors opened to reveal his son who looked like he had just run a marathon. He may have made a joke if not for the serious and somewhat scared look his son was sporting.

"We need to talk."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3: Confrontations, more training, and new friends

Minato P.O.V.

Minato stared at his son. Out of all the time times that they had spoken, he had never seen his son look so serious. He cursed his job as Hokage and his success as a ninja. It was because of this that he couldn't have a proper relationship with his son. He couldn't take the risk that any of his enemies might find out about his having a son. They would do anything that they could to kill him so as to prevent the rebirth of the Kīroi Senkō. One was bad enough. He knew Iwa in particular would put a high bounty on Naruto's head should they discover their relations.

Focusing back onto the current moment, Minato wondered what his son wanted to talk about. Somehow he got the feeling that it would be something major.

Naruto P.O.V.

Naruto steeled his face in the expression of absolute seriousness. Although he did love his father, part of him resented his father for not being there for him. However, he understood that it was for his own protection, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Naruto wanted to talk with his father about many things. At first, it was just about the strange feelings of being watched, but then he had so much more to say. He was also really pissed that his father had hid the whole sealing situation from him. He wanted the whole story and he was determined to get it. His father owed his that much.

"I want the truth."

Minato gave him a confused look. "About what?"

Naruto was trying to stay calm, but his anger was rising. "You know damn well about what. I want the truth about the sealing. Tell me the whole story. I think you owe me that much _dad_." Naruto practically spat the last word, his voice full of malice and disgust.

For all of his life, things have been kept secret from him. The sealing, Tsunade – Kaasan, and his birth mother's identity. The very fact that he was his god damn father, well for a few years this one was hidden from him. Naruto had tried to put his anger behind him, but he could never truly just get rid of all his rage.

Minato gave a sigh in defeat. He hoped this would never come up, but something told him that it would. He made a hand sign and activated the seals he had placed on his office door. There was a sound barrier seal, a blood seal, a chakra seal, etc….. All necessary to keep the spies from the council away from him and out of his business. They were always searching for something they could use to gain leverage over him.

He remembered when he'd held the meeting with them about his son. He'd kept the sealing a secret because he knew full well that if the council knew his son contained Kyubi's chakra and could control it, then they would demand that he be trained as a weapon to compensate for their loss of shinobi from the Kyubi attack.

Minato refused to let that happen. He had also told the council how Naruto was his son, but would take up his wife's maiden name for further protection as no one knew his wife's identity except for Old Man Sarutobi who had married them. He swore all the council to secrecy when concerning all aspects of his son's heritage. He planned to reveal it to the village once Naruto was strong enough to protect himself against ANBU level ninja who would surely be after his head to either gain leverage over Minato by holding him hostage or to just kill him and prevent the Hiraishin from being passed down.

He had already known that he would have to abandon Naruto in order to protect him. He would forever be racked with guilt over it. He could only imagine what his wife would do to him if she knew what he had done. She'd probably castrate him and then give him a beating that would keep him in the hospital for months. How he wished she was still alive. She would be able to protect Naruto and take care of him and they'd all be a big happy family. Unfortunately, living "happily ever after" was reserved for fairy tales.

Back to the current situation, Minato had no idea where to begin. He figured it best to start from the beginning. How Tsunade must have found his jutsu scroll to how she helped deliver Naruto to him bringing Naruto to the battlefield on top of Gamma Bunta's head to Tsunade interfering to him waking up in the hospital.

By the time he had finished, Naruto was filled with different emotions. One was anger obviously. This was something huge and his father had hidden it from him. Another strike for _dear old dad_. Another was gladness. Naruto was even gladder that Tsunade had done what she had done. Tsunade had given him someone he could call family.

Naruto was at a loss for words. He was going to talk to Minato about the feeling he had about being watched, but now he no longer could. Without a word, he spun on his heel and left, totally ignoring Minato's protests. Right now, the sight of his father sickened him.

----- At the training ground -----

Naruto needed to relieve his anger and stress. Multiple destroyed training dummies littered the ground. Naruto was currently repeatedly punching a stump, despite his bleeding knuckles and his body's protest to stop. Naruto's eyes were filled with malice, but the tears falling from them greatly contrasted.

Why was fate so cruel to him?

Why?

Tsunade felt for the kid. If she could, she would give Minato a piece of her mind. And a taste of one of her punches. She was truly disgusted with what Minato had done and how badly he had fucked p his son's life. However, as much as she wanted to help Naruto, she knew it would be pointless right now.

Naruto finally stopped. Blood was flowing freely from his damaged hands.

'_Fuck! Now what am I suppose to do?' _

"**Don't worry kid, I'll teach you something that will help. Just do as I say."** Tsunade explained to Naruto how he should manipulate his chakra before telling him to mimic the hand seals that she would show him.

Naruto could see recognized some of the hand seals from one of the old scrolls the he had studied so he mimicked them before manipulating his chakra the way Tsunade had explained. His hands glowed green and the wounds on his hands had healed.

"**Congrats kid, you just learned your first ijutsu (medical technique). You did well for your first try." **

'_Thanks Kaasan. Would you teach me more techniques?' _

"**Yeah kid, I will. We'll start tomorrow after you've gotten a proper night's sleep and have regained your strength." **

'_Ok.' _

----- The next day -----

Naruto was feeling much better and couldn't wait to start his training. He sped through breakfast and put on his training clothes before racing out too the training field.

----- At the training ground -----

"**Ok kid, you've done very well so far in your training. You've built yourself up a nice chakra reserve and your control is perfect. Today I'm going to teach you the technique that made me both famous and feared. My legendary super strength." **

This made Naruto smile brightly. To think, he would be learning a technique that made a legendary sannin famous.

'_Ok, what do I do?' _

Tsunade laughed inwardly. This kid was so excited to learn. If he was properly trained then he would probably obtain a power that would surpass Yondaime. **"Ok kid, basically you need to channel chakra to a specific area, compress it, and then release it upon impact. If you do it correctly, then the effects will be very devastating." **

Naruto mulled over the directions. It seemed very easy, but he knew that if it was a sannin's prized technique then it certainly wouldn't be easy. Naruto faced the nearest tree and cocked his fist back. He concentrated on manipulating his chakra correctly. He fired a punch at the tree and released his chakra right when his fist hit the tree. The result was the tree's trunk snapping and the tree falling over.

"**Not bad kid, but that's no where near where the technique's power should be at." **

'_But I destroyed the tree. How powerful is this technique?!' _

"**I'll break it down for you kid. There are hundreds of chakra points on the body. When you use chakra for a technique, chakra is released from one or more of these points. When using my technique, you have to synchronize the release of chakra from the chakra points. You managed to do that for ten points which is pretty damn impressive, but in my prime, I managed to synchronize the release of my chakra from thirty points which is what gave it such destructive and explosive results. You're going to have to practice synchronizing the points until you can use my technique without even thinking about it." **

Naruto groaned. He knew from the start that this wouldn't be easy, but he didn't think it would be this hard. Oh well, he would have to keep practicing until he got it right. If there was one thing that Uzumaki Naruto didn't do, it was quit. So for hours he continued to practice using the super strength. His training was producing slow improvements. However, all of his hard work was paying off as he could now synchronized eleven chakra points for either a punch or a kick. Naruto hated how slow he was progressing, but he no longer had the energy to. Continual use of the super strength consumed a shit load of chakra and he was tired. The training field was in even worse shape as it now resembled a war zone what with the broken trees and multiple craters. Deciding he should head in, Naruto dragged himself home to find two scrolls on the desk in his room. He instantly knew what they were and why they were here. Tonight was one of the nights where he was supposed to have dinner with his father. The top scroll would be an apology letter and an explanation for not being able to come and the other would be a scroll that his father thought would make up. Naruto tossed the top scroll into the garbage without even opening it. He honestly didn't care anymore. Actually, he would much rather eat alone because dinners with his father were always awkward. Naruto opened the second scroll to see if it had anything useful. Shock was clear on Naruto's face as he saw that the scroll contained the instructions for the A ranked kinjutsu: Kage Bunshin no jutsu.

'_Well well, seems that dear old dad is finally useful for something' _

"**Don't say that kid. Maybe he had a good reason to miss dinner." **

Tsunade's voice may have sounded confident in what she said, but she doubted it highly. However, Tsunade didn't think it was right to encourage Naruto to dislike his idiot of a father. Tsunade had made a promise to herself though. If she ever got her hands on Minato, she would give him a thorough beating and a very harsh chewing out for what he had done. Tsunade smirked while inside, chibi – Tsunade had devil horns, a tail, and the devil's staff and was laughing maniacally.

Naruto had decided to take a shower and then go to bed. Tomorrow he would try and learn the new jutsu and continue to practice using the super strength.

----- Next day -----

Naruto got up and completed his morning routine before grabbing his backpack. He tossed in the jutsu scroll along with a couple of ramen coupons. He hadn't had it in a while since Tsunade kept lecturing him about how unhealthy it is. However, after all of the hard training he had been doing and would be doing today, he thought he deserved some type of reward. With everything ready, Naruto headed off to the training ground.

----- At the training ground -----

Naruto laid his backpack down before he started a quick warm – up. He stretched a bit before he walked out onto the pond. After he had mastered water walking. Naruto had asked Tsunade if training on top of the water would be beneficial or not. Tsunade told him that it would and complemented him on coming up with such a good training exercise. So Naruto did one hundred sit ups and one hundred push ups on top of the water before walking back on to dry land to read the scroll. Naruto grabbed the scroll out of his backpack and opened it up.

_----- Kage Bunshin no jutsu -----_

_This jutsu is an upgraded version of the academy technique: Bunshin no jutsu. This jutsu, unlike the regular bunshin, are not illusions, but solid copies. However, this jutsu's major drawback is that it cuts the user's chakra in half for each copy created which is why it is considered an A ranked kinjutsu._

The scroll went on to describe the hand seals used, how to manipulate your chakra for the jutsu, and how to create the solid copies.

Naruto reread the scroll a couple of times before he felt ready to try the jutsu. And so Naruto practiced and practiced until an hour later when he finally mastered it. Naruto was incredibly happy at mastering the new jutsu.

"Yatta! Infinite sparing partners." What was really limiting Naruto was his lack of experience. Now he could gain the experience by practicing with his clones. Naruto put his hands into a cross – like seal and said "Kage Bunshin no jutsu" before a clone came into existence. Both he and the clone got into fighting stances. Naruto moved first, aiming a punch at the clone's stomach. The clone jumped back and Naruto's fist hit the ground, creating a small crater. The clone threw a round – house punch at Naruto, but Naruto brought his left arm up into an inside block and his right arm into a cross block effectively stopping the attack. Naruto brought his right leg up into a round – house kick to the clone's ribs, but the clone threw a straight punch with his left arm to Naruto's left shoulder. Both hits made contact and Naruto flew back into a tree while the clone poofed away.

"**That hurt."** Naruto got up and rubbed the dirt off of him. His head also hurt a bit. Naruto replayed the fight over in his head trying to figure out what he did wrong. Everything seemed ok until he got to the last attack.

'_That was the problem. I left myself wide open.' _

Suddenly, Naruto realized something. He could clearly see himself throwing the kick. He could see his facial expression and everything. _'Wait there's no way I could see myself. These must be the clone's memorizes, but how do I have them?'_

"**Interesting." **

'_What?' _

"**Looks like your new jutsu transfers all of your clone's memories back to you. You know whatever the clone knew right up until it poofed out of existence. Think about it kid, the clones are just copies so all of the memories go back to the original. It's like you doing twice the work in half the time."**

'_Wait so if that's true then if I had one of my clones read a book and then dismissed it, then I would know what happened in the book.' _

"**That seems logical." **

'_So if I were to make ten clones and have them practice the super strength then I would improve much quicker.' _

Now Naruto was really glad he learned the jutsu. Naruto put his hands into a cross sign and created ten clones. Naruto and the clones practiced the super strength for a couple of hours before he dispelled them. Then Naruto punched the ground. The crater was twice the size that it usually was.

"**Quite the improvement kid. You went from being able to synchronize eleven chakra points to twenty – one chakra points. At this rate, you'll have mastered it in no time."** Naruto smiled brightly at this. His hard work was paying off.

A stomach growl told Naruto that it was dinner time. He gathered his things and started walking towards the village. As he thought back to his training. His movements seemed really slow. He'd seen some higher level ninjas sparing in a training field once and his speed was like crawling compared to theirs.

'_Hey Kaasan, do you know of any way that I could increase my speed?' _

"**Legal or illegal?" **

'_WHAT?!?' _

"**Just kidding kid, just kidding. Well anyway there are two ways. One would be to use chakra or a jutsu, but once you run out of chakra, you're screwed. The other way would be weight training." **

'_Weight training?' _

"**Yes, kid, you could wear weights on your legs and arms. Once you get used to it you're body won't even look like it is weighted down. In battle, once you take them off you'll be much faster." **

Now Naruto knew what he had to do. It would be a shit load of work, but he would have to start weight training.

'_Where the hell would I get weights anyway? It's not like there are advertisments for them.'_ Naruto was dragged out of his thoughts when a flyer hit him in the face. Naruto ripped it off of his face and noticed a message on it.

_SALE_

_50 of regular weights, chakra weights, and gravity weights_

_One day only at the Richiroku weapons and ninja supplies store._

'_Well that's ironic, but convenient.'_ With that, Naruto raced home to grab a good portion of the money he'd been saving. (He saves leftover money that he receives each week in order to buy food and other necessities) Naruto went back out and headed to the store.

----- In the store -----

'_So which weights should I get?'_ Naruto kept looking at one set then his eyes moved to another then another and then back again.

'_How the hell am I suppose to pick a set of these damn things?!' _

Naruto's head started hurting from all the confusion.

'_Kaasan help.' _

"**What's wrong kid?" **

'_Which weight set should I chose? I can't decide.' _

"**The gravity seal weights are the most effective kid. I suggest you get those." **

'_Of course, the most expensive ones.' _

"**Hehehe sorry kid, but that's the price for the good stuff."** Naruto sighed and grabbed a set of gravity weights before heading to the counter. Naruto paid and left before heading home. He'd had a long day and he wanted to rest. His head was pounding which Tsunade said was probably the mental strain from his clone training. And tomorrow he'd be starting to train with his weights as well so he'd need to be well rested.

----- Next Day -----

We find Naruto back at the training ground. The weights consisted off black bands around his wrists and another set to go around his ankles. Naruto had just put them on and was looking at the instructions. _'So all I have to do is channel chakra into the weights and then initiate the first level. Easy enough.'_

Naruto put his hands into the tiger seal and sent chakra to the bands.

"Jun ichi: initiate." (Level one: initiate)

White seals appeared on the bands and black seals spread up his arms and over his face until they covered his entire body. Chakra pulsed through them before they faded away like they were never there. Naruto waited a couple of seconds, but felt no different.

'_Did anything happ_-' Naruto didn't get to finish his thought as a huge force slammed him into the ground.

"Fuck that hurt. What the fuck happened?"

"**You activated your weights kid. What did you think; you'd just fell a small tug? You increased the gravitational force that acts on your body so any result less than this would probably mean that the weights were defective." **

'_Oh lucky fuckin' me.' _

Naruto tried to push himself up, but couldn't. 'How the hell am I suppose to get up? I can barely move.' Naruto tried again, but also added chakra to his arms to help push himself up. This time he was able to get up to his knees, but it was a huge struggle. Finally, Naruto managed to force himself up enough to stand up straight.

"I guess I'm gonna have to just run some laps so my body can adjust."

So Naruto started walking since it was a huge struggle just to lift his legs. Naruto managed to lesson the strain by channeling chakra to his legs to help him move.

'_Crap, I'm gonna have to do nothing, but laps for days.' _

And so Naruto did no other training besides running laps for two weeks. Now he could walk without help from his chakra and he could run, but he still need a little chakra to help.

Today he was going to try to go through his regular training regiment when he heard what sounded like someone crying. He followed the sound until he came to a clearing. On the other side of the clearing, he could see someone sitting on a stump. The person had their head down and their face buried in their hands.

Naruto figured the nice thing to do would be to go over and see what was wrong.

"Hey what's wrong?"

"N…..No……Nothing." The voice was so soft that Naruto barely heard it.

"Clearly something is wrong otherwise you wouldn't be crying. Who are you anyway?"

"H…..Hy…….Hyuga Hi……..Hin………..Hinata."

'_The last name sounds familiar.' _

"**She's a Hyuga kid. The Hyuga clan is one of Konoha's oldest and noblest clans. However, their success throughout the years has given them huge egos. Most Hyugas are overconfident and have sticks rammed up their pompous asses. Its pretty odd to see one so soft and fragile like this one." **

'_What makes them so great?' _

"**Their bloodline kid. A Hyuga could literally kill you in one hit. They have a doujutsu that gives them 360**۫ **vision and allows them to see the body's chakra network. Really advanced Hyugas can even see your chakra points. With these abilities, they have created a special form of tai-jutsu that allows them to attack your insides. Because of all this, they believe themselves to be the best and that's why they have such big egos." **

'_Sound like a bunch of pricks to me.' _

Getting back to the current situation, Naruto again asked what was wrong and stated he knew it was nothing so she better not say that again in a voice that was clearly annoyed.

"I……I……I lost……I lost again. Otou-sama says I'm weak."

"Just because you lost once."

"N……N…….No. I…..I…I always lose."

Naruto frowned. A father shouldn't tell their child that they were weak.

'_Her father sounds like a huge bastard.' _

"So he says you're weak because you lost a training spar?"

"H……Ha……Hai."

"C'mon then." Hinata gave him a confused look.

"Let's you and I spar. Maybe I can help you improve."

"O……O……..Ok."

So Hinata and Naruto walked to the middle of the clearing before taking up fighting stances. However, Hinata's was shakey and she clearly had no confidence in herself. Naruto ran at her and threw a punch to her head. (He's not using the super strength) She ducked and then sent an open palm strike to his stomach, but stopped before she hit him. Naruto tried to knock her off her feet with a sweep-kick, but she jumped back to avoid it. Naruto charged her and they exchanged some punches and blocks, but Naruto could tell that she wasn't really trying to hit him. Naruto became angry at this.

"This spar is over." He started to storm off to go back to his own training.

"W…….Wh……..What's wrong?"

"You. I can tell you were holding back. You haven't even beem properly aiming your hits. Its clear that you don't respect me as an opponent."

"I……I…..I'm sorry. P……Pl…..Please wait."

Naruto stopped, but kept his back to her.

"I'm listening."

"P….Pl….Please don't go."

"Are you going to get serious?"

"H……Ha……Hai."

Naruto sighed and walked back to Hinata.

"Alright, let's go again."

Naruto threw a front-ball kick to her stomach, but she side stepped it. He planted the foot he kicked with into the ground (his back to her) and swung his other leg at her head, but she managed to duck in time. Hinata sent a barrage of open-palm strikes at him, but he managed to dodge them. However, Hinata was actually trying to hit him. They exchanged a few more attacks before Naruto landed a hit on Hinata's shoulder and sent her flying backwards. Naruto helped her up. Once back on her feet, she dusted herself off.

"Let's take a rest."

Hinata nodded and both of them sat down on an overturned log.

"You were very good." Hinata blushed at the compliment.

"Why did you hold back in the beginning? Did you really not take me seriously?"

"N……N……No……I just…."

"Don't want to hurt anyone?"

"H……Ha…….Hai."

"You know you're probably hurting people more when you hold back."

"W…….Wh……..What do you mean?"

"Well suppose you were sparring with someone, but you hold back. Now they don't know that you're holding back. They would probably think that they were stronger than they actually are. Suppose they took on a stronger opponent and then got seriously hurt or even killed." Naruto paused to let her mull over what he had just said. "So you see, holding back does nothing except cause problems. Do you understand?"

"Hai."

"Hey, you didn't stutter that time."

Hinata blushed.

"It means you're starting to have more confidence in yourself."

They silently rested on the log for a little for a little while longer before Naruto decided to head out and go get some dinner.

"Well I got to go. See you around Hinata." Naruto started to walk off.

"Wait." Naruto turned back to her.

"What?"

"Will…..Will you…….spar with me again sometime?" Naruto smiled at her.

"Yeah." And so both of them headed off. It had been good day. They both had made a new friend.

----- Unknown Location -----

"Report."

"Sir, the boy is more than he appears. I haven't seen anybody training him, but he knows a lot, especially for his age."

"What of his abilities did you witness?"

"He's very good with throwing weapons. I also saw him use an ijutsu and he can create a crater with a single punch."

"Interesting. Did anyone notice you?"

"I think the boy may have at one point."

"That's quite a feat. After all people have said that when you don't want o be found, you practically become dead to the world. It would take a very high level ninja to even find a trace of you."

"I too wonder how he did it. Anyway, after that I worked even harder at concealing my presence. He didn't notice me after that."

"Very well, you're dismissed."

"Yes sir."

"(Insert evil chuckle) Soon boy. Soon."

----- Minato's office -----

Minato sighed as he finished another stack of paperwork. He wanted to talk to Naruto, really he did, but he knew he wouldn't listen to him right now. He'd made the biggest mistake of his life and he was forced to live with it. Still Minato wanted someone to talk to him. So he'd sent word to Jiraiya to return from checking in with his spy network and to bring back someone else. Just then, his door was opened.

"This better be important gaki. I was in the middle of important research." A hand smacked the back of his head.

"You should be neutered for doing such things you revolting pervert."

A young girl walked in. She had black hair that reached her shoulders. She wore a long black yukata. In her arms was a pig with a red vest and a pearl necklace.

"It's been awhile Shizune."

"Yes it has. So what's so important that I had to return to the village immediately?"

"Tell me Shizune, what do you know about the night that your sensei died?"

Shizune looked at the floor and her eyes were cast in shadows. "Tsunade-sama gave her life to seal away the demon fox. After that the boy also died, taking the fox to the grave with him."

"Who told you that the boy died?"

"One of the doctors. I asked about him and they said he'd been in the nursery. Unfortunately, the nursery had been destroyed by the Kyubi during the attack."

"So that's why you left?"

"Hai, with both Tsunade-sama and the boy gone I had no reason to stick around." Shizune struggled with trying to keep herself from breaking down. All of this had brought back horrible memories.

"I'm sorry to bring all of this up Shizune, but the boy is very much alive."

"So that jerk lied to me?!"

"He may have confused my son with another baby. Not many of the doctors had gotten a good look at him."

Shizune calmed herself before walking out the door. "I need a walk."

----- In the village -----

"One pork ramen please."

Naruto smiled and separated his chop – sticks while his bowl of ramen was brought to him.

"Thanks old man."

----- Elsewhere -----

Shizune was dragging her feet and had her head bowed low. So the boy was alive. She promised Tsunade that she would take care of him for her. She hoped she could make amends for not being there in the past

She looked up to see multiple food stands. There was dango, okonomiyaki, Rice balls, ramen……

The ramen stand caught her eye or rather the customer. A little boy who was already on his sixth bowl of ramen. Something was familiar about him.

'_That blonde spiky hair. That must be the boy.' _

The boy's hair was the exact same as the Yondaime accept shorter on the sides. Shizune headed over to him.

"Another pork ramen please."

Shizune momentarily paused to wonder where he put all of the ramen. Shizune took a seat next to Naruto and ordered some food.

Naruto stared at the unfamiliar person.

'_Never seen her around before.' _

"**Kid, that's Shizune." **

'_Who?' _

"**My apprentice kid. Before the sealing, I used to teach her. I wondered where she disappeared to." **

Shizune took a bit from her bowl and wondered how to go about this. However, Naruto beat her to it.

"Hey, I've never seen you around her before."

"Yeah, I haven't been here in years."

"Maybe we should talk somewhere more private."

Shizune gave him a questioning look, but nodded anyway. They both paid for their food before Naruto lead Shizune off towards his house.

----- In front of Naruto's house -----

"So why did you want to come here?"

"I know who you are."

"What?"

"I know who you are. Shizune, former apprentice to the legendary sannin, Tsunade, before she died in the sealing."

"You know about the sealing?"

"Yes, Tsunade told me." So Naruto proceeded to explain to Shizune his and Tsunade's situation after some encouragement from Tsunade that he could trust her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Shizune wrapped her arms around Naruto and cried on his shoulder. "You must have been so lonely. And I broke my promise. I gave my word to her that I would be here and I failed." Shizune poured her heart out to Naruto. She told him her entire story, about her promise, about the doctors, and about being called back to the village.

Naruto loosely returned the hug. "It's ok. You had no way of knowing. Seriously, I'm not mad."

"Can I make up all of the lost time? I promised I would and I won't break my promises."

Naruto eagerly nodded. Man this was a great week. He made a new friend and now he had another important person. Little did he know what the future would bring.

And with that, they went off. Naruto took the lead and Shizune stared at him with a caring gaze. _'Tsunade – sama, I can see how this boy touched your heart. Don't worry, I'll uphold my promise.'_

**That's it for chapter 4**

**I'm surprised, you people like my story ) **

**Anyway, sorry if it seems a little rushed, but this chapter is mostly just a filler to zero in on the training and to bring in certain characters next chapter will be much better. **

**Anyway, for those who didn't like that I put in a song or just didn't think it worked for the story. Sorry, but that happens to me sometimes. Seriously, that chapter just didn't seem to be right until I used that song because then I started changing things & then got the chapter to be what it is, but I'll try not to rely on songs. **

**Ksai: Wow it's like you read my mind. The teams will be more balanced because I can not put the original team 7 in here without going crazy. I've recently developed a strong hatred for all of them. I won't be making Sasuke like super weak, but he will get his ass kick multiple times by different people in different ways. **

**ConnectFire611: Let's just say he already knows that exercise. Hehehe I actually forgot about that exercise. Thanks for your compliments. ) **

**Himuradono: I'm not going to give a five year old a knife unless I don't like them. Also I will be keeping the graduation age the same and I'm not even really sure if I am putting in pairings. (Sorry Narutomaniac) The only two I'm really considering are asumaxkurenai and shizunexgenma. The first one is pretty much a definite. **

**Narutomaniac: Sorry, but I'm keeping the graduation age the same. They need the time to complete the D rank missions and build teamwork. Plus, that's three extra years and they are in the academy at either age seven or eight. Yes, Naruto will have her super strength by the time he's a genin. What is it with you people and reading my mind? He will be training heavily on his speed. **

**Shadow patronus & Amberion2001: You both basically asked the same thing so I'll just answer it in one big thing. It is true that clan heads don't hide their heirs, but they have the protection of an entire clan. Naruto is just one little boy. He doesn't have the same kind of protection that the clan heirs do. Also with saying that Tsunade would have grown up the same way. For one thing, the village was much stronger back then. I mean this is Konoha after both the third great ninja war and the Kyubi. Konoha's power has drastically decreased. Plus, she was trained by the soon-to-be Hokage and the Shodaime and Nidaime probably were there a lot to either supervise or train Sarutobi. Plus, she couldn't use her grandfather's wood style techniques and we don't exactly know when she created her strength technique and since she's also female, people probably underestimated her. **

**For further questions, no Naruto doesn't have the whisker marks and he doesn't hate Minato so much as hold strong anger against him. I don't want to make him like Sasuke. Also I have to polls for you guys. One would be Hinata's second chakra affinity. The first one is water. Also, should Naruto refuse to learn Yondaime's techniques or should he learn then and then improve them and prove his superiority to Yondaime? **


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**Tsunade talking **

'_A character's thoughts'_

Chapter 4: Knowledge, Aliens, and connections

Naruto was heavily panting, his hands resting on his knees in order to prop himself up. His blonde hair was soaked with sweat and some of it stuck to the side of his face and forehead.

The training ground was in a really state of disarray. Multiple craters littered the ground as well as a few kunai knives. Some trees were partially destroyed or up rooted and shuriken were imbedded into the trunks.

"Damn, maybe I went a little overboard. Although all of this training is definitely paying off."

"**That may be true, but I don't think that the people who take care of the training grounds appreciate your constant destruction."**

"Oh screw them. They get paid to do it and besides they use jutsu to repair the damage. At most they may get a minor case of chakra exhaustion."

"**I suppose you have a point. Not like I care, I don't have to clean up this mess." **

"Ok then, let's start up another round." Naruto brought his hands up into a cross sign. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu."

Multiple replicas of Naruto poofed into existence, forming a circle around the original. A stand off ensued between the original Naruto and the clones. Four replications charged at Naruto all at once, two in front and two in back.

Naruto moved quickly, cart-wheeling to the right to dodge the oncoming assault. He immediately punched the ground in front of him, causing a giant crater to be formed. Pieces of the ground were forcibly shifted from the blow, and the replicas were forced to move or be destroyed.

Naruto took this time to escape from the middle of the circle. However, he didn't get far before a replica was on him, throwing a punch to his ribs. Naruto leaned back and put his hands on the ground, stabilizing himself. He put his weight onto his hands as he twisted and nailed the clone in the stomach with a painful kick. The clone was vaporized from the assault.

Naruto got back onto his feet, and was immediately forced to jump back to avoid getting smashed by a heel drop. Naruto quickly grabbed as multiple shuriken from his holster and hurled them at the oncoming clones. Twelve of them disappeared in a puff. Naruto used the generated smoke to his advantage.

He quickly hid behind a nearby boulder, to catch his breath and to formulate a plan of attack. However, he only got in a few deep breaths before he was forced to dodge another attack. One of his clones had punched through the boulder, smashing it to bits.

Naruto took a few steps to the left to avoid chunks of what was once a proud boulder. He spun on his right heel while bringing up his right hand. His hand seized a kunai that was sticking out of the nearby tree. He brought it up into a guarding position while his left hand circled around his waist to grab the last of the shuriken from the pouch on his right thigh. Naruto was ready to impale the advancing clones with his projectiles, when the fight was interrupted by a loud growl.

Naruto and every one of his replications froze in their tracks at the loud sound.

"Damn, right when things were starting to get good too."

"Stop your complaining, kid. Shizune's shift at the hospital ended a few minutes ago. She'll probably have lunch waiting for you."

"That's true and if I'm late she'll probably be worried."

"She always did worry at the slightest of things, but that's Shizune for you."

"I'd better gather my kunai and shuriken and then be off."

Each of the replicas grabbed any weaponry that was near them. Naruto securely packed away everything before dispelling the clones and heading home. Naruto sped off, taking to the roof tops to avoid the village. It always seemed so empty to him, plus he'd spent more time training then he had originally planned and didn't want to be late. The last time he was Shizune almost had a meltdown.

Shizune, she was quite……well interesting for lack of a better word. The woman was a good example of a doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. She was very emotional and sometimes allowed them to dictate her actions. Something like this would get in the way of the ninja profession not to mention also being a doctor. However, Shizune could quickly somber up and become the ideal shinobi. She could be calm and rational even in hopeless situations.

Naruto leapt off of the rooftop he was on. He landed on the front walkway of a decent sized house. Brushing dust off of his clothes and tucking away any stray hairs, Naruto walked towards the house. It was the smallest house within the clan compound.

The Senju clan was not a very large clan, at least not after everything that had happened. The last member of the Senju clan had been Tsunade and since she was dead to the world, the estate was sealed. Multiple genjutsu seals surrounded the compound, hiding away the many secrets and ninja arts that belonged to the clan. In essence, the compound was dead to both the village and its enemies.

However, Shizune was Tsunade's apprentice and she held a good deal of power and leeway for her life's work. Being allowed to live on the compound of such a noble and wonderful clan was a major honor. It was said to be considered a gift or at least that's how that old man in the robe said before resuming smoking his pipe.

Naruto had reached the front door and entered. Closing the door behind him, Naruto's eyes scanned the house until they found their target, the clock.

Naruto sighed. "I'm on time."

However, just to be sure that Shizune hadn't entered panic mode, Naruto peered out the window at the sky. He was relived to see that the bat signal was not being projected onto the sky.

Shizune was in the kitchen hard at work fixing lunch. She'd gotten off of her shift at the hospital and was feeling quite ravenous. She'd been pretty busy the last few months. Actually, she'd been pretty damn busy ever since she returned to Konoha. Taking in Naruto and taking care of them both was certainly no easy task.

She'd taken up working at the hospital, hell the Hokage practically begged her to work at the hospital. There was not a great deal of truly skilled medics in Konoha. At least, not skilled in the standards that Shizune was measured in. Not that she was over confident or being pompous, in truth, she knew that there were probably thousands of ways that she could improve and hoped to do so. However, the medics didn't have all of the skills that she did.

Once again she thanked her former master, Tsunade. Tsunade had very high standards and didn't except anything less than perfection from her. Not that there really could be anything less than perfection from a medic. They had to be as close to perfect as possible in order to be as efficient as possible. She'd never be able to forgive herself if someone were to die because she wasn't good enough.

Her skills had been practiced and refined for years of intense training and she was very grateful that Tsunade had taken her under her wing. It was that training that had allowed her to commit such a large amount of medical knowledge to memory and then be able to recall it in less than a second's notice. It also allowed her to be able to properly heal people in the field instead of having to first have them transported to a hospital.

Speaking of the field, she had also become part of a four man squad. It really hadn't been much of a surprise. Tsunade had proven long ago that if a squad had a skilled medic, then their chances of success greatly increased. So really, it was totally expected.

At least she liked her teammates. Genma, Hayate, and Raidou were nice people and she worked well with the three of them. She had been worried that she would be looked down upon because of her career profession and that she was a woman in a group with three men. She was glad that she had been proven wrong.

She was shaken from her musings when she heard the door open, signaling that Naruto was home. She picked up the plate of onigiri that she had made and moved it to the table.

"Lunch is ready, Naruto-kun."

Naruto entered the kitchen and dumped his bag next to a chair before sitting in said chair. Immediately he dropped his head into his hands as he felt a throbbing pain. Receiving the memory of all of his kage bunshins always gave him a major headache. Tsunade said it was to be expected because his mind was practically being "assaulted" by the memories all at once. His sprint home wasn't any help either.

"Another headache, Naruto-kun?" Naruto nodded. "I'll make you some tea. That should help."

"Thanks."

Shizune chewed on her nails as she waited for the water to heat up. This wasn't the first time that Naruto had complained of a headache. In fact, he'd been complaining of headaches almost daily. She examined him multiple times, but she still couldn't find anything wrong with him that would cause his chronic headaches.

Shizune did at least take comfort in the fact that she could use her medical expertise to relieve the pain, although she hadn't been doing that lately. Naruto was getting older and as with age comes the need for independence. It drove her nuts with worry and concern, but she couldn't force Naruto to let her help him. He was just starting to be more open and comfortable with her and something rash like that would probably destroy the progress she had made in their relationship.

Naruto was insanely guarded for his age and it worried her to no end. She blamed the five years before she asked him if he would accept her as family. When she first met him, he was starved for attention and practically jumped at her offer; however, he had retreated back into himself the very next day. She still couldn't believe that he had had such a change of heart so quickly. Although, she couldn't shake the strong feeling in her gut that somehow Tsunade had something to do with him accepting her so quickly the first day.

Once the water was properly heated, Shizune set about putting the tea together. It was an herbal tea that seemed to help sooth Naruto's headaches. It was just a fluke the first day she'd bought it. Now she couldn't keep the stuff in the house, not that she was complaining. It was very healthy and it was better Naruto was addicted to tea as oppose to what else he could be addicted to.

"Here's your tea, Naruto-kun."

"Thanks."

After setting down the cup of tea, Shizune sat down herself and gestured to the plate of freshly prepared onigiri.

"Have some of the onigiri I made. There's plenty for us both."

Naruto took some of the offered onigiri and placed it upon the small saucer that Shizune had given him. He gave it a long, hard stare before taking a bite. As usual, the food was very delicious. Shizune was quite the wiz in the kitchen, which was very fortunate otherwise they'd probably go broke just buying food.

"Bui."

Both Shizune and Naruto turned towards the pink pig that had just made her entrance. TonTon walked over towards Naruto, who rubbed her head in greeting, while Shizune prepared a bowl of water for her.

It had been merely on a whim the day that Shizune had bought TonTon. She'd just been passing by when she spotted the pig. A small traveling family was selling the little pig in hopes of getting some money before they left. Shizune couldn't explain it, but she was drawn to the pig.

What sealed the deal was when the couple started talking about how they could sell the little pig to a butcher. Shizune just couldn't let that happen and so she bought the little pig. It sounded weird, but the little pig was like a baby to Shizune and her instincts refused to let her leave the little pig to its death. Thus TonTon became a member of the Uzumaki family. Shizune herself had taken Naruto's last name in order to keep uncomfortable questions from being asked.

Shizune looked over her shoulder and smiled at the sight. TonTon had jumped into Naruto's lap and Naruto was affectionately rubbing her head. TonTon was having a very positive effect on Naruto. While he was withdrawn and distrusting of people, TonTon was another story entirely. The little pig had worked her way into Naruto's heart and had done him a lot of good.

Shizune placed the bowl of water on the table. TonTon didn't waste anytime in scurrying over to the water. Shizune giggled as the little pig began chugging the water as if she hadn't had it in years.

Grabbing a scroll off of the counter, Shizune took her seat and took a drink from her cup of tea.

"I almost forgot, Naruto-kun. This came for you today."

Shizune handed Naruto the scroll and he wasted no time breaking the seal. Shizune watched as his eyes scanned its contents. She'd been curious, but had respected Naruto's privacy. She didn't want to risk loosing Naruto's trust.

"So what does it say?"

"It's a notice from the ninja academy."

"And?"

"Uzumaki Naruto, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into this year's class of ninja-in-training. I got in."

"Oh that's wonderful news, Naruto-kun."

Shizune watched Naruto as he sat there and placed the scroll down before continuing to eat. TonTon even seemed more excited than Naruto. The little pig had released an extra loud squeal that Shizune guess was out of excitement. However, Shizune had lived with Naruto for three years now had learned to read him pretty well.

Looking closely, she noticed his eyes were wider than usual. He also kept occasionally glancing over at the letter between taking bites of the onigiri and drinking his tea. He was excited and happy about being accepted into the academy.

"Oh, I almost forgot. A notice also came for you from the library, Naruto-kun. Your books are in."

"Wow that was pretty fast. I only placed them on hold a couple days ago."

Shizune stifled a laugh. Ever since she had taught him how to read, Naruto had been reading up a storm. In hindsight, it would put him really far ahead in school, but Shizune was a love of literature and just couldn't bring herself to discourage him. However, she did encourage him to read multiple different types of books so that he wouldn't get to far ahead in school.

Shizune shook herself from her musings and noticed that Naruto had already cleared his plate and was heading for the door. He put the strap from his bag over his head so his bag was strapped to his side securely.

"Come on, TonTon."

"Bui."

TonTon jumped from the table, to Naruto's seat, to the floor and then scurried over to his side. Shizune watched as they both disappeared behind the door. She hated that he was leaving already, but a glance at the clock revealed that she had to get going as well. She had many shifts at the hospital each day along with missions.

Thankfully though, she wouldn't have to work as many shifts. She'd been helping to train new interns at the hospital as well as improve the skills of the medics already at hand. That would allow her more time to help train Naruto. So far, she'd only been able to teach him the book knowledge needed for being a medical ninja and an occasional jutsu. Soon she would be able to kick his training up a few notches.

With that in mind, she grabbed her purse, walked out the door, locked it, and took off.

----- In the village -----

Naruto had arrived at the library, TonTon in tow. The building was located near the center of the village, not too far from the Hokage's tower. It had the largest selection of books and information on just about everything. It was the place to go if you need to find out something.

Opening the door, Naruto walked in and TonTon jumped into his arms. Pets were usually not allowed, but after an incident was almost caused with the Inuzuka clan, that policy was revoked as long as said pet was not really big and didn't disrupt anything or anyone.

Naruto turned his head towards some loud groaning.

"Hey Shiho."

The grunting girl instant composed herself before turning around.

"Hey Uzumaki-san, long time no see."

The sarcasm on the last part was very clear. Naruto had been in the library so much that Shiho had joked about letting him sleep in an upper level.

"What's with all the groaning any way?"

"Oh that," Shiho sweat-dropped and rubbed the back of her head, "well you see we just got in these new computers."

She gestured to her desk and then the boxes on the other side of the room. There was a good number of them. Shiho turned the monitor towards Naruto so he could see that the computer was crashing and the picture kept blacking out.

"Whoa, what's the damage?"

"I'm not sure. They said that this was supposed to make the library more efficient. Unfortunately, the damn things keep malfunctioning. At this rate, I won't be set up for another few years."

"Sounds like a pretty sucky situation. Can I help?"

Shiho pushed her seat back and turned both her hands towards the computer.

"Be my guest."

Naruto walked over and sat down. He didn't have that much computer knowledge, but he did know some things. Computers had only just recently come out and many people still preferred doing things the old fashioned way. However, Naruto had read a book or two on computers so as to familiarize himself.

He untangled some cables and moved some plugs, but nothing changed so he kept rearranging. Finally, he lost his patience with all the work and lack of progress and slammed his fist onto the table in frustration. The table shook, but the computer beeped a few times before rebooting itself.

Both Naruto and Shiho stared at what happened. They'd both worked and toiled at trying to get the damn thing working and nothing had worked. And now it fixes itself.

"And they say violence doesn't solve anything."

Both giggled. Naruto, for his part, was just thankful that he hadn't instinctually enhanced his strength with chakra. For insurance reasons and to avoid lawsuits, he'd been learning to control when he enhances his strength.

"Well, thank you for your help, Uzumaki-san."

"No problem. Anyway, I came because I got a notice that my books were in."

"Oh yes, now let me see."

Shiho browsed the stack of records recorded on the papers on her desk. Her eyes scanned the lines before coming to a stop.

"Here we are, they are all here." She reached below the desk and returned with a stack of books.

"Quite a lot of reading material here, Uzumaki-san. Planning on proving the theory of brain versus brawn?"

"Hn, very funny. Trying for a career in comedy?"

Shiho giggled and scratched the back of her head. "No, no it's just my natural charm is all."

Shiho then moved a pile of books from under the desk and set them next to Naruto's stack.

"Now, if you would please excuse me, I have some filing to do."

Suddenly, both stacks of books were knocked off the counter as if blasted by a very strong gust of wind.

"Oh dear."

Both Naruto and Shiho started picking up all the books and sorting them out. Naruto picked up a book and his eyes widened. The symbols on the cover seemed very familiar, but he just couldn't place it. It wasn't one of the books he'd ordered, but it was like the book was calling to him. He really couldn't describe the feeling.

"Uzumaki-san? Uzumaki-san?"

"Huh? What?"

"You had me worried. You completely spaced out and you had this look on your face. I thought you were going to pass out or something."

"Oh, sorry for worrying you." Naruto rubbed his head and blinked a couple times before getting to his feet. He picked up his pile of books as well as the mystery book that had him so enraptured in it.

"Thanks for your help, Uzumaki-san. Now I really must be getting back to work. Hopefully a miracle will occur and I'll be able to get this damn new technology working by the end of the day."

Shiho reached out her hand, planning on retrieving the book from Naruto. However, Naruto pulled the book back to which Shiho gave him a confused look.

"Is something wrong, Uzumaki-san?"

"Actually, I think I'll take this book too if it's not already on hold."

"Well all of these books were just delivered so they haven't been here long enough. You can take it out if you want, just let me log that."

Pulling the pencil from behind her ear, Shiho made some notes at the bottom of the paper on the top of the stack that rested next to her computer.

"There we go; you're all set now, Uzumaki-san"

"Thanks."

Naruto turned and walked out of the library. He really should tell Shiho that she could call him Naruto. Uzumaki-san made his sound like an old man. Besides, he'd known her long enough for her not to be so formal with him.

"**You're pretty comfortable around her, aren't you kid?" **

'_Is there something wrong with that?' _

"**No, I'm rather happy about it, kid. She's a nice girl." **

Naruto resisted the urge to groan at her giggles.

'_Please don't tell me you are planning out a wedding. We're just acquaintances. Actually, I admire her accomplishments.' _

"**Her accomplishments, right I got ya." **

Tsunade didn't bother to even try to stop her laughter. Honestly, the kid was so easy to tease. Naruto growled at her enjoyment of mocking him.

'_God are all adults crazy or just the ones I know?!' _

"**Alright alright, calm down kid. I'll stop I promise." **

'_Yeah, like I believe that, but seriously. She's only a year older than me, yet her intelligence level was so high in the academy that the elites immediately took interest. I guess that's why they dumped managing the library and setting up the computers to her. Either that or the lazy bastards just don't want to be bothered to do it themselves. Either way, I wouldn't be surprised if Shiho is high up in the intelligence department one day_.'

"**Wow, you sure are filled with praise for her aren't you?" **

'_Shut up!' _

Naruto gritted his teeth and left the library with his books, securely tucked away in his bag. Tsunade, however, was having the time of her life. Her laughter rang through Naruto's head. God was she enjoying the current situation. Damn, it could only be better if she had some sake.

----- Hokage Tower -----

However, not everybody in the village had such a humorous situation. Yondaime was in his office, starring down the most fearsome menace that any Hokage has to face: the dreaded paperwork!! Piles and piles of paperwork cluttered his desk and the floor on the sides of his desk.

'_Curse you evil paperwork! You multiply quicker than rabbits!' _

Minato had not been doing well lately. All this paperwork had been keeping him up real late and then bringing him in real early. The dark rings under his eyes could attest to that.

Adding to that, he'd been having trouble sleeping in his home anyway.

The large house was so empty and cold. Every hallway, every room haunted him, flooding him with memories and visions. Visions of his wife, his son, what once was, and what could have been. Basically, it was what he'd had and what he wanted, but would never have.

Kushina was dead. She'd been dead for eight years now and it was still difficult for him to believe. She'd been perfectly healthy during her pregnancy as well as all the time leading up to it. Her death even confused the doctors; both had said she had a clean bill of health. Her autopsy was inconclusive as well.

Minato blinked, feeling the tears pricking his eyes. It still hurt to think about her. However, she was not the only individual that was plaguing him. His son, Naruto, was also haunting him. He hadn't seen his son in so long. He'd been so swamped with paperwork that he hadn't been able to even sneak off and have the weekly dinner with him that had been planned.

He hated himself, he really did. He was a horrible father. Tsunade had sacrificed himself to give him a chance to be with his son and he had blown it. Naruto was avoiding him now and he really couldn't blame him.

Now all of the news that he heard about Naruto came through Shizune. Shizune wasn't too happy with him either and her reports were very cryptic and delivered through clenched teeth. Still, he was very thankful that he was at least able to get her to give him those small tidbits of information.

Minato choked down a sob and tried to dry his tears, but no luck.

'My life is so screwed up and it's my entire fault. God, I'm such a terrible person. I've managed to do everything wrong.'

Tears fell freely from his eyes and he vainly tried to dry them before they could stain the paperwork he'd been working on. His life was burning to the ground and all he could do was watch from the corner he'd boxed himself into.

He opened the draw on the side of his desk and pulled out a bottle of sake and a cup that he'd stashed away. Pouring a glass, he drank it down rather quickly. He filled his glass again before putting the sake bottle back in the draw. He signed the paperwork he was working on before putting it on top of another pile. He read over the next paper on the pile and his eyes went wide.

He grabbed the little calendar that he kept at the edge of his desk.

"Damn."

The calendar confirmed his fears. Today was the day he'd been dreading. Any second now…..

A knock at the door drew Minato's attention.

"Come in."

In walked his secretary, her long blonde hair was pulled back into a bun, the ends of her hair hung out of said bun and almost gave it a crown-like appearance. Her bangs fell to the length of her eyebrows and covered her forehead. She wore the standard jounin uniform pants and sandals. However, she wore a blue t-shirt and a gray hoodie in place of the rest of the standard uniform.

Her name was Fiona and she had been his secretary for quite a few years now. She was still quite young, but efficient. She got the job done well and thankfully didn't have ties to any major clan within Konoha. It would be political suicide to employ someone who was apart of one of the major clans. Fiona did assist him with paperwork dealing with various important issues and if she was apart of any clan, it could cause people to think that that particular clan had unfair influence over the others.

"Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama has arrived along with your other guests. Shall I show them in?"

'_Hell no!'_ "Yes Fiona, please show them in."

Minato gulped down the cup of sake on his desk and quickly returned the cup to the draw. Just in time to because his guests had just entered his office. Jiraiya was in the back and he looked very weary. In front of him stood two people that Minato would have preferred not to see.

"Hello Minato-kun."

'_She's using that voice which can only mean one thing. Crap!' _

----- Naruto's room -----

Naruto was in his closet, digging through everything that was in there.

"What are you looking for kid?"

'Well, that book looks really familiar to me for some reason and I just can't place my finger on it. So I'm kind of hoping that maybe I can find something that will jog my memory.'

"Right, are you sure that you're not just crazy?"

'Very funny. Oh, I think I found what I was looking for.'

With a grunt, Naruto dragged out an old crate from the back of his closet. He pushed it a few feet from the closet. He brought his hand to his mouth and cough a few times because of all the dust.

"What the heck is this thing?"

'Well I'm not completely sure.'

"You're not completely sure?"

'Well, you see, back before I moved in here with Shizune in that glorified shack. And this crate is a whole bunch of crap that was sent along with me when I moved in here.'

Tsunade chose not to push further. She knew that the past was a sore subject for Naruto and didn't want to send him spiraling into a dark depression.

'So I'm hoping that the answer to why that book looks so familiar is in here. I did see some of the things as they went into the box and since I can't place it anywhere else, I'm hoping that the answer is in here.'

Naruto yanked up the top of the box and once again broke out into a cough at the dust. In the box was a bunch of various items. There were some books, a photo album, and other things that one would find in a crate. However, Naruto's eyes were drawn to a small book that was wedged in at the bottom of the crate.

He pulled it out and examined it.

"That's why that other book looks familiar."

It was unmistakable; the symbols on the cover of the book that he'd taken from the library had been roughly sketched onto the cover of this book. And given how intricate the designs were, it seemed highly unlikely that it was a coincidence.

"**Wait am minute kid, there's no way that you finding that book was a fluke. How did you know about?" **

'_You're right; it's not just a coincidence. This book use to sit out on a bookshelf back in my old residence. I couldn't read back then so its designs drew my attention. I use to always wonder what the hell all the designs were suppose to be. And now, hopefully it will provide me with some answers.' _

**That's the end of chapter 4**

**I know it's been awhile, but I haven't given up on this story. Hopefully, I can start updating quicker, but life is starting to get a little hectic. However, I don't plan on abandoning this story. I did get a beta; however, said beta wasn't available to oversee this chapter so I hope it doesn't suck. **

**Now to elaborate a little bit on the chapter. Before you guys start jumping on me about putting computers in there, I did my research and Kishimoto himself has said that they might have computers, but they wouldn't be anything like what we have. Plus, we've been given some insight into the technology that they have there and I think that they probably do have computers. I mean we saw the security they had in the forest of death so I think it's plausible to say that they have some form of computer. **

**Now before I continue, I must warn that this paragraph will contain minor spoilers for the manga and if you haven't read any of the manga online then you may want to skip down to the next paragraph. Yes, Shiho is the female that was introduced when Shikamaru and Naruto were trying to break Jiraiya's code. I thought she fit in nicely and thought that she would fit in nicely. Hopefully she fit in nicely and I portrayed her well. **

**Now in regards to the pairing. I've decided that I'm not going to say whether or not there will be a pairing, so you'll just have to wait and see. I do want to say that Hinata will not be paired with Naruto. Nothing against the pairing, but with what I have planned for Hinata, her role would become too cliché. I also want it clear that I am open to yaoi and yuri as well as hetero pairings so if you have issues with this then please stop reading. Leaving a review about how you're not going to read anymore because of my choice in pairing isn't going to make me change it. **

**And now for the polls that I posted at the end of chapter four.** **One would be Hinata's second chakra affinity. The first one is water. Also, should Naruto refuse to learn Yondaime's techniques or should he learn then and then improve them and prove his superiority to Yondaime? I also want to say that wind isn't an option for one of Hinata's affinities because it won't work out later on. **


End file.
